The present invention relates to a new and distinct Impatiens plant botanically known as Impatiens wallerianaxc3x97Impatiens auricoma and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Balfusgloxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar was developed by the inventors in a controlled breeding program during September 1999 at Elburn, Ill. The objective of the breeding program was to develop Impatiens cultivars with numerous flowers, new and unique flower shape and colors, excellent basal branching, and upright compact to moderate growth habit.
The female (seed) parent of xe2x80x98Balfusgloxe2x80x99 was the proprietary Impatiens walleriana selection designated xe2x80x989516-4xe2x80x99 (not patented) characterized by its upright growth habit, coral-colored flowers, and medium green-colored foliage. The male (pollen) parent of xe2x80x98Balfusgloxe2x80x99 was the proprietary Impatiens auricoma selection designated xe2x80x98193xe2x80x99 (not patented) characterized by its upright growth habit, yellow-colored flowers, and dark green-colored foliage. xe2x80x98Balfusgloxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination in August of 2000 at Elburn, Ill. and initially designated xe2x80x98PAS T31-08xe2x80x99.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by shoot tip or stem cuttings since August 2000 at Elburn, Ill. and West Chicago, Ill., has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduce true to type with all the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.
The new cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light intensity, and day length without, however, any variance in genotype.
It was repeatedly found that the cultivar of the present invention:
1. Exhibits single, cupped, yellow-colored flowers,
2. Forms medium green-colored foliage,
3. Exhibits a good basal branching character, and
4. Exhibits an upright mounded growth habit.
Plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of the female parent primarily in flower color, flower shape and leaf shape, and from plants of the male parent in flower color, flower shape, leaf size, and branching habit.
Plants of the new cultivar can be compared to plants of xe2x80x9896-009-7xe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,972). However, in a side-by-side comparison conducted in West Chicago, Ill., plants of the new cultivar differed from plants of xe2x80x9896-009-7xe2x80x99 primarily in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new cultivar have a more compact growth habit than plants of xe2x80x9896-009-7xe2x80x99, and
2. Plants of the new cultivar have larger flowers than plants of xe2x80x9896-009-7xe2x80x99.